Constitutional law of 2008

Constitutional law of 2008
Name	Constitutional law of 2008
Jurisdiction	National
Enacted	2008
Status	current

Constitutional law of 2008 The constitutional law of 2008 was a comprehensive reform enacted in 2008 that reshaped national institutions, redistributed powers, and revised fundamental rights across the state, touching on actors such as United Nations, European Court of Human Rights, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and NATO; it followed debates involving figures like Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Nelson Mandela, and Aung San Suu Kyi and intersected with events including the 2008 financial crisis, Iraq War, Global War on Terror, Lisbon Treaty, and Beijing Olympics.

Background and Constitutional Context

The background and constitutional context combined constitutional doctrine from sources like Magna Carta, United States Constitution, French Fifth Republic, German Basic Law, Spanish Constitution of 1978 with comparative developments in jurisdictions such as Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, and Japan, and reflected institutional learning from episodes including the Good Friday Agreement, Treaty of Lisbon, European Union enlargement, African Union Constitutive Act, and the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis affecting Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Drafting and Adoption Process

The drafting and adoption process convened commissions drawing expertise from bodies like Constitutional Court of South Africa, Supreme Court of the United States, European Court of Justice, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and International Criminal Court and consulted civil society organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International, Oxfam International, and Red Cross while negotiating with political parties including Labour Party, Conservative Party (UK), Democratic Party (United States), Christian Democratic Union, and Socialist Party amid protests reminiscent of Occupy Wall Street, Arab Spring, Yellow Vests Movement, Indignados Movement, and Saffron Revolution.

Key Provisions and Institutional Changes

Key provisions reconfigured separation of powers inspired by models from Federalist Papers, Weimar Republic, Ottoman Tanzimat, Meiji Restoration, and Glorious Revolution and created or reformed institutions such as a revamped Supreme Court of the United States-style apex, a new Constitutional Court (Germany), independent ombudsman akin to Ombudsman (Sweden), electoral commissions like Federal Election Commission (US), anti-corruption agencies modeled on Securities and Exchange Commission, and fiscal councils comparable to European Central Bank, Bank of England, Federal Reserve System, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank.

Rights and Civil Liberties Reforms

Rights and civil liberties reforms expanded guarantees referencing jurisprudence from Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, Miranda v. Arizona, Marbury v. Madison, and Dudgeon v. United Kingdom and incorporated standards from Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Convention against Torture while affecting institutions like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, European Court of Human Rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Political and Judicial Implementation

Political and judicial implementation saw leading actors such as Supreme Court of the United States-style tribunals, national cabinets led by figures akin to Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Jacques Chirac, Silvio Berlusconi, and Viktor Orbán interpret provisions, with enforcement involving prosecutorial offices like International Criminal Court, anti-corruption prosecutors resembling Sergei Magnitsky-related cases, and oversight from entities such as Council of Europe, United Nations Human Rights Council, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, African Union, and ASEAN.

Criticisms and Legal Challenges

Criticisms and legal challenges invoked constitutional scholars citing precedents from H.L.A. Hart, Ronald Dworkin, A.V. Dicey, John Rawls, and Robert Nozick and litigation comparable to landmark cases like Citizens United v. FEC, Bush v. Gore, Boumediene v. Bush, R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America) brought before courts including Supreme Court of the United States, European Court of Human Rights, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Constitutional Court (Germany), and Constitutional Council (France) while NGOs such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Transparency International, International Commission of Jurists, and Liberty (UK civil liberties NGO) mounted challenges.

Impact and Legacy

The impact and legacy influenced constitutional scholarship at institutions such as Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Oxford University, Cambridge University, and Stanford Law School and policy debates in forums like United Nations General Assembly, G20, World Economic Forum, European Council, and African Union Summit, shaping subsequent reforms analogous to the Lisbon Treaty, Treaty of Maastricht, Constitution of India (amendments), South African Constitution (post-apartheid), and the constitutional transitions of Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq (2005 constitution), and Kosovo Declaration of Independence while leaving a contested legacy debated by commentators at The Economist, New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, and Der Spiegel.

Category:2008 in law